severe summer. out of control fires, oppressive heat that won't go away and widespread power outages that are taking days to repair. finding god. scientists discover a new sub atomic particle that may be the key to how the universe forme>> we'we'll rememberp fr f we'we'll remembe andy griffitho turnedp turned a plain spo totown souther town southern s r op of tvof tv's mostr totown souther town southern s r op of tvof tv's mostr characters.captioning funded by cbs. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, july 4, 2012. good morning everybody. good to be with you on this independence day. i'm terrell brown. for many americans, this fourth of july will be an exercise in survival and patience, still

reeling from the aftermath of violent weekend storms. more than a million customers along the atlantic seaboard still don't have power and the heat wave that suffocated much of the country isn't going away. heat advisories are posted from the dakotas to west virginia while heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast along the east coast. severe weather is altering holiday celebrations. the severe storms that began on friday are blamed for at least 24 deaths. explosions of every color lit up the denver skyline. it was a welcome sight to coloradans who have seen more fire and smoke. the governor has banned personal fireworks in the state this year to try to prevent new wildfires from starting. >> it's always important. this year is exceptional. you can tell by the wildfires that we've had throughout the state. >> the danger isn't just limited to the west. public fireworks displays have been called off in dozens of states. record high heat is a big reason. more than 15,000 record high

temperatures have been recorded this year. dried out land is providing fuel for potential fires leaving officials little choice. >> this is a tough call for municipal leaders who are trying do the right thing. >> on capitol hill, a different weather system caused problems. rehearsals for the capitol hill concert were cut short and the crowd evacuated from the lawn when severe storms moved in. more than a million people are still without power after a strong storm rolled through the mid-atlantic last friday. for them, the fourth of july will not be the celebration it would have been. >> sweat and stay inside and then you're trying to get ice to keep your food cold. it's a hardship. >> cities up and down the east coast have canceled independence day parties to keep all resources focused on getting their power back. there are fireworks accidents every fourth of july, but few as serious as a powerful blast last night in new hampshire. nine people were injured including several youg children. it happened at a private home

north of the massachusetts line. neighbors say fireworks stockpiled for an annual neighborhood show somehow ignited. two children were airlifted to a boston hospital with serious burns. out west, the issue remains wildfires. overnight california firefighters battled a blaze in palmdale about 35 miles north of los angeles. the fire was pushed by strong winds and quickly spread through area grasslands. so far, no structures have been burned and no evacuations have been ordered. in colorado, air force tanker planes are back in the air to fight a slew of dangerous wildfires. the planes were grounded. following a weekend crash. three major fires destroyed more than 600 homes and killed at least three people. rick sallinger has the report. >> you don't get much better than that. >> the specially designed c-130s can cover a quarter mile with 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant. the colonel is with the california air national guard. >> these are the most effective in the world.

they're turbo prop aircraft that have instantaneous power. >> after sunday's air tanker crash in south dakota, a replacement tanker will be needed to fly these missions in colorado. >> they're dangerous, but we put our most experienced and best pilots flying the mission. >> the u.s. air tanker fleet is a mix of government owned and privately leased aircraft. in 2000, the forest service had contracts with private companies for 43 air tankers. now, it's just nine. some of those planes are decades old. >> we are very troubled by the crash that took place. >> tom vilsack is the secretary of agriculture. >> it is not a secret that the tankers that we have are aging. it's one of the reasons we issued a report to congress this year outlining a plan to replace and modernize the fleet. >> president obama signed a $24 million bill last month to lease

seven more air tankers, but they won't be joining the fight until august. the c-130s were grounded for a day following the south dakota crash. the military called it a time to review and reflect. now they're back in service, a critical tool during this deadly firefighting season. rick sallinger for cbs news, colorado springs. this morning, scientists in switzerland announced they found a new subatomic particle that may be the so-called god particle. the higgs boson is thought to explain why other particles have massed the key to the formation of the universe. the search began in the 1980s. the scientists at the research center near geneva say this is a preliminary result but very strong and valid. this fourth of july, president obama is back at the white house after spending time with his family at camp david. the president will host a naturalization ceremony for active duty military.

mitt romney is on vacation at his family's lakeside estate in new hampshire. he'll march in the town's independence day parade. overseas, the first nato supply truck carrying supplies from pakistan to afghanistan could cross the border today. pakistan opened the border after the united states apologized for a deadly air strike. david martin has the report. >> for seven months some 7,000 truck loads of equipment bound for the u.s. military in afghanistan have been stranded in pakistan. now that the supply lines have been reopened, pentagon officials estimate it will take about two months to clear that backlog which stretches some 900 miles from the border to the port of karachi. the breakthrough came when secretary of state clinton told the pakistani foreign minister the u.s. was sorry for the loss of life which occurred when american gunships accidentally opened fire on a pakistani border outpost last november. pakistan had been demanding an apology. but clinton's sorry apologized

only for the 24 dead, not for the incident itself which a u.s. investigation concluded was caused by mistakes on both sides. u.s. officials believe the pakistanis accepted that more limited apology because the closure of the supply routes was hurting pakistan at least as much as the u.s. pakistan lost several hundred million dollars in aid the u.s. withheld while the routes were closed. $250 in fees paid for each truck which crossed pakistani territory and perhaps the biggest loss, the pentagon stopped buying the fuel it used in afghanistan from pakistani refineries. it cost the pentagon an extra $2.1 billion to ship material through a longer but safer northern supply route. despite the increased distance and cost, the pentagon actually increased its stockpiles in afghanistan. u.s. officials say they're in no particular hurry to start using the pakistani routes again. they won't really need them

until the pentagon starts withdrawing all its heavy equipment from afghanistan. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. we'll take a quick break on this fourth of july. coming up, a return to mayberry. we'll remember actor andy griffith who brought to life one of television's most popular characters. this is the "cbs morning news." ife one of television's most popular characters. this is the "cbs mornng news." now you can apply sunblock to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®.

it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can plan my days and accomplish more. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision

or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. dozens of roads are buckling in the heat wave in the midwest, including one in western wisconsin. it was marked with red flags but apparently the driver of an suv wasn't paying attention and this happened. >> oh, my god. >> the vehicle goes flying. all caught on video by a woman on a nearby overpass. this happened on monday. no word on the severity of injuries to those in that suv. the medical news this morning, you can now test yourself for the hiv virus at home. the food and drug administration approved the first over-the-counter hiv test oraquick. it detects the presence of hiv in saliva. results are available within 20

to 40 minutes but the fda says the test is not 100% effective. andy griffith, an enduring television star of the 1960s and '80s died early tuesday at his home in north carolina and was laid to rest nearby. as word of his passing spread yesterday, fans brought flowers to a statue of him in the role of sheriff andy taylor in north carolina. the model for the fictional mayberry. of the andy griffith show. bigad shaban has more. >> there was no mistaking the theme to the andy griffith show. and no mistaking the plain talking down home charm of its star. andy griffith played andy taylor, the sheriff in fictional mayberry, north carolina. the straight man to comic don knotts. >> it's easy. >> good. just make sure it clears your underwear. >> right. >> tv father to a young ron howard. >> he would call me youngin. youngin over here. >> howard says he learned a lot from griffith.

a man who elevated his show by playing to a higher standard. >> andy was a little more of a jimmy stewart kind of a character than he was a kind of a sitcom dad. >> griffith first hit it big in feature films, including a face in the crowd and no time for sergeants. but it was mayberry that made him a household name. griffith earned a star on hollywood's walk of fame more than 36 years ago. he was nearly 50. his career in television was far from over. >> estella ortiz remembers griffith as the folksy defense attorney in matlock. >> i think we've lost somebody that started a lot of the beginning of good family values at home. >> howard says to fully appreciate griffith's life, look beyond his biggest roles. >> look at face in the crowd or one of his dramatic turns on tv or in the movies. he was a real artist. >> rest in peace, andy. >> andy griffith was 86 years old. bigad shaban, cbs news, hollywood. old.

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the lower mississippi valley eastward from the eastern dakotas across the lower great lakes to the ohio valley and from southwest texas to eastern california and north to wyoming. heavy monsoon rains could produce flash floods in southern arizona and new mexico. in sports, serena williams two wins away from victory at wimbledon. quarterfinal action yesterday, williams made short work of her defeat. williams overpowered the czech champ with 13 aces to win in two sets. 6-3, 7-5. thursday, she faces australian open winner. to baseball, baltimore at seattle, orioles left-hander had a four-run lead going into the seventh inning when there was a solo home run. baltimore's bullpen stumbled and the mariners tied it up. in the top of the ninth, a homer put the orioles back on top. they hold on for a 5-4 victory. milwaukee, second inning, the

brewers maldonado slaps one to the mound. sanchez snags it behind his back for a 1-4-3 double play. all offense from there. reyes hit a solo homer to give the marlins a 12-11 lead. but ramirez answered with a two-run shot off miami closer keith bell. brewers get a walk-off win 13-12. in pittsburgh, mccutchen went 3 for 4. including a home run against the astros. his .360 leads the national league. top of the ninth, jason castro hit an rbi double to right tying the game at 7. but the pirates drew sutton hit a solo homer in the ninth. pirates get the 8-7 walk-off win. the laugher of the night was in chicago. the white sox kevin youkilis and alex rios all homered off rangers starter oswald in the first. that was just for starters. in the fifth, chicago slammed a

three-run bomb to right, part of what became a nine-run inning. the white sox beat texas 19-2. finally, nba free agent darren williams has decided to stay with the relocating brooklyn nets. the allstar point guard tweeted that he made a very tough decision in choosing the former new jersey nets over his hometown dallas mavericks. but the reported $98 million he'll get for five years in brooklyn probably helped make up his mind. certainly so. when we come back, whetting their appetites. contestants face off ahead of today's nathan's annual hot dog eating contest. nathan's annual hot dog eating contest. than a covergirl? two covergirls. get two miracles in one product. tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. covers spots, lines, and wrinkles. and helps improve skin tone over time. tone rehab from easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl! covergirl!

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here's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. in d.c., thunderstorms, 95. partly sunny, 96 in atlanta. mostly sunny skies, 104 in st. louis. thunderstorms, 93 in denver. mostly sunny skies, 69 in seattle.

the newly resigned chief executive of london's powerful barclays bank will be grilled by members of parliament today over just how much he knew about the interest rate scandal that cost him his job. last week barclays was fined $453 million for manipulating rates. elizabeth palmer has more. even after barclays was fined a record $450 million last week, bob diamond, the american head of one of britain's biggest banks, insisted he wasn't going anywhere. forced out as ceo by a huge and growing scandal. the external pressure placed on barclays has reached a level that risks damaging the franchise, he wrote. i cannot let that happen. the scandal centers on something called the libor or london interbank offered rate. it's the interest rate that the world's biggest banks charge each other to borrow money. it's also the benchmark for more

than $500 trillion in financial contracts, including student loans, credit card debt and many adjustable rate mortgages in the u.s. nicholas dunbar is a london-based financial writer. >> on the process and we've now evidence that it was dishonest. it was being manipulated for the benefit of the traders. >> the benefits could have been huge. british and american regulators suspect that barclays traders colluded with their counterparts at other banks to keep the interest rate low and their own returns high. in one e-mail, a grateful trader wrote to his barclays colleague, when i write a book about this business, your name will be in golden letters. the reply from london, i would prefer this not be in any books. >> the lower rates may have allowed some traders to make huge profits, but it may also have cheated consumers. the city of baltimore and the firefighters and police union of

new britain, connecticut, have already filed a lawsuit against barclays and other international banks claiming that a low libor cost them a return on their investments. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. a jetblue airline pilot who disrupted his own flight leaving the cockpit and screaming about religion and terrorists has been found not guilty due to mental illness. clayton osbon was charged with interfering with a flight crew after the incident in march. a federal judge in amarillo, texas where the plane made an emergency landing ordered him to a mental health facility. for further tests. >> the titans of competitive eating will take part in one of the biggest sporting events of the year. the nathan's hot dog eating contest in coney island. we have a preview yesterday of sorts. our buddy john elliott coming up on the left weatherman from our weather station in new york city up against former nathan's champ. takeru kobayashi. looks like john is gobbling these things down but take a really close look.

not really. kobayashi will not be competing in this year's event. cheater, cheater you. this is the "cbs morning news." ater you. this is the "cbs morning news." it's time to live wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system... from beautyrest. it's you, fully charged.

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4 minutes before 5:00 on the 4th of july. you're waking up to a moon heading west and marty looking the same direction at first warning weather. >> big, fat full moon. it's through high clouds. let me show you the clouds. there's first warning doppler weather radar. we have rain marching our way. i don't think we see any thunderstorms or thundershowers here. i think it's going to be some pretty steady rainfall in some locations. let's take a look at the day part. it's not the only rain we're going to see today. late this afternoon and this evening there will be some showers, thundershowers around. i'll give it a 50/50 chance some fire works get effected. temperatures moving into the mid 90s today.

79 now. heart for -- hartford county opening cooling centers. >> the visionary art museum puts its own spin on the holiday with some pets. >> already in the news this morning, the tens of thousands of marylanders spending another night in the dark and without air-conditioning. the latest on the around the clock effort to fix the repairs. >> how police hope to prevent a repeat of last year's 4th of july. the >> the oriels looking for some late inning magic as they say on their northwest coast swing. more news, first warning weather in a couple of minutes. ,,

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